Ridin Lucy's

One of the distractions riders seem to gravitate to every once and a while, or for some-every chance they get, is to see just how great ones' bike handling skills really are.  That urge swings dramatically upward when other riding friends are together.  Such is the case frequently when riding at the Levis Mound trail, so a couple years ago we decided to create a skills course, a place where riders could just go and play.  It has been an ongoing project with new elements placed on the short loop every year.  Named after one of the builders' "trail dogs"- Lucy, a Jack Russell Terrier, it contains teeters, skinnys a rock garden and various ramps to test just about every rider.

Teeter Dan

Materials were salvaged from the forestry dept. burn pile, old highway guard posts, an old field stone rock pile and fallen timber.  It became a trail builders "tinker trail" in a way, a nice distraction from digging dirt on the mound all the time.  Some of the teeters are a bit scary high, others just visually intimidating for some.

A bit too skinny?

I've often wondered when is the best time to take a quick lap around Lucy's Loop-run it as a pre-ride before heading out on the Levis Mound Trails, or as a post-ride cool down, when my skills are all warmed up but fatigue setting in. The challenge is to "clean" all of the elements and not "dab" and I can honestly say I've done that a few times, but not always.  I think that not-quite-so-easy-as-it-looks element is what keeps me coming back, and on this day, my riding partners as well.

Post-Lucy's review

 

 

 

Lucy's Loop is located just north-west of the Levis Mound trailhead off the Lower Glen trail.   It is about a 1/4 mile long serpentine one way loop that allows multiple laps.  Levis Mound is 12 miles south-west of Neillsville off of State Hiway 95 in the Clark County Forest.